Now Playing Onstage in Tucson - Week of 2/17/2013

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Barbara CookFox TucsonTheatre 2/22-2/22/2013
The New York Times raved, "Essential is precisely the word for Ms. Cook's contributions to the art of song in America and to the preservation of a true estimation of the legacy of the great Broadway composers and lyricists." Broadway's favorite ingenue in such "Golden Age" musicals as The Music Man, Candide and She Loves Me, Barbara Cook has cemented her reputation as one of popular music's greatest soprano voices. A recent Kennedy Center honoree, she is also a Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle Award-winner and member of the Theatre Hall of Fame. Cook is the only pop singer to be presented by Metropolitan Opera and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Pops. In 2012-2013, she celebrates her 85th birthday with her long-awaited autobiography and a return to the Kennedy Center.
Click Here for More InformationINTERGALACTIC NEMESISThe Rialto Theatre 2/23-2/23/2013
The year is 1933. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Molly Sloan and her intrepid research assistant Timmy Mendez team up with a mysterious librarian from Flagstaff, Arizona, named Ben Wilcott. Together, they travel from Rumania to Scotland to the Alps to Tunis to the Robot Planet and finally to Imperial Zygon to defeat a terrible threat to the very future of humanity: an invading force of sludge-monsters from outer space known as the Zygonians.
Click Here for More InformationBALLET FOLKCLORICO LA PALOMACommunity Performance & Art Center 2/23-2/23/2013
This dynamic Tucson ensemble returns to CPAC once again!
Click Here for More InformationBRAD UPTONLaff's Comedy Cafe 2/22-2/23/2013
Brad Upton in a past winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival and appeared recently at Caesar's Palace as part of the HBO Comedy Festival. Twenty-six years and 5000 shows have made this Seattle based comic a much sought after performer and earned the respect of his peers.
Writing about everyday life, a long term marriage and anything else that pops into his head, Brad packs more laughs-per-minute into his set than nearly anyone in the business. He has been seen in concert with Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers, The Smothers Brothers, Lewis Black, Joan Rivers, Dolly Parton, Rita Rudner and Tim Allen. He is currently touring theaters and performing arts centers with The Masters of Stand Up, a group that includes comedy stars: Jimmy Brogan, Cathy Ladman and Maryellen Hooper.
Click Here for More InformationLEFTOVER SALMONThe Rialto Theatre 2/24-2/24/2013
Looking back over the past 25 years of rootsy, Americana, string-based music, the impact of Leftover Salmon is impossible to deny. Formed in Boulder, CO in 1989 the group was one of the first bluegrass bands to add drums and tour rock & roll bars, helping Salmon become a pillar of the jam band scene and unwitting architects of the jam grass genre.
Though the band members are reticent to accept the weight of their influence, Leftover Salmon co-founder, singer, guitarist, fiddle and mandolin player Drew Emmitt does reflect fondly on the band's early days. "We knew we were doing something special" he says. "At that point in the early-90?s, it was the birth of the jam band movement, Phish was starting out, Widespread Panic was starting out, and they were a little ahead of us, obviously, but we were one of the first bands to get out there with bluegrass and just get on the road and try to make something happen without a record deal. We were just following in the footsteps of New Grass Revival, Hot Rize and Little Feat, but by doing that I think we inspired some other bands too."
If Salmon had never played another note after the devastating death of banjo player/co-founder Mark Vann in 2002, the legacy would have been secure; the members' names etched in the books of history. But today, more than two decades after Salmon first took shape, the band has a new album (Aquatic Hitchhiker, due May 22 on LoS Records), a new banjo phenom (Andy Thorn), and a new lease on an old agreement. Leftover Salmon is officially back.
The legend of Leftover Salmon begins in October 1985 when band leader, co-founder, singer, guitarist and washboard player Vince Herman left his home in Morgantown, WV with a buddy in search of that Rocky Mountain High. "The day that I arrived in Boulder" recalls Herman, "we literally drove in off the highway, parked the car, saw a sign at a bar that said 'Bluegrass', went in there and it was Drew playing with the Left Hand String Band; like the moment we got to town."
Some would call this fate, others coincidence, either way this moment would change the lives of Herman, Emmitt and a whole lot of other people. A few years later Herman had established his own group, the Salmon Heads, and on New Year's Eve 1989 he asked Left Hand String Band members Emmitt and bassist Glen Keefe to fill in for some missing Salmon Heads. They took the name Leftover Salmon and the group played its first show at The El Dorado Cafe in Crested Butte, CO. A few months later revolutionary electric banjo player Mark Vann moved toColoradoto join the Left Hand String Band and was quickly pulled into Leftover Salmon as well. Though the lineup would change through the years to include such luminaries as drummers Michael Wooten (1989-1997) and Jeff Sipe (1997-2000, 2007-2010), bassists Keefe (1989-1991) and Tye North (1993-2000), accordion and harmonic player Gerry Cavagnaro (1990-1991), keyboard players Bill McKay (2000-2011) and Joe Jogerst (1991-1993), the core of Leftover Salmon was always rooted in the relationship between Herman, Emmitt and Vann.
Leftover Salmon delivered its debut album; "Bridges to Bert" in 1993, and followed it up with the live album "Ask The Fish" in 1995, both of which helped land the group a spot on the influential H.O.R.D.E. tour. With the band's stock on the rise and their Colorado slamgrass style firmly established, they signed to Hollywood Records and released what many consider to be the definitive Salmon record, 1997's 'Euphoria". The band would go on to release four more albums, each unique in its own way, none more so than 1999's "The Nashville Sessions" which placed Salmon alongside some of its biggest influences and most beloved colleagues, including Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Widespread Panic's John Bell, Blues Traveler's John Popper, Earl Scruggs, Waylon Jennings and Lucinda Williams.
On March 4, 2002, at age 39, Mark Vann lost his battle with cancer. Vann insisted that the band carry on and Salmon enlisted Noam Pikelny to assume the banjo role, keeping the flame lit through endless tours and several more albums, including 2002's Live (pronounced "liv"), a live album released shortly after Vann's death and the last record he ever performed on; Live also featured the new rhythm section of Jose Martinez (drums) and Greg Garrison (bass), both of whom remain members of the group to this day. The following year the band released "O Cracker, Where Art Thou? " which found Salmon backing Cracker's David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, and 2004 would see the release of Leftover Salmon, the first post-Vann Salmon studio effort.
On New Year's Eve 2005, exactly 15 years to the day since Leftover Salmon's very first show, the band desperately needed a break and made arrangements for an indefinite hiatus. The big NYE concert felt like a conclusion, perhaps a proper ending to a very influential, dare we say important and just damn fun band. "The reality is Leftover Salmon is what we did for a living" says Herman. "We had families and we kind of had to keep feeding the beast, and the toll of that spiritually on the music was audible, so we had to pause to do other things and really get more in touch with ourselves as musicians and find out what direction we would go outside of Salmon."
Herman created Great American Taxi and Emmitt a solo outfit (Drew Emmitt Band) as well as the Emmitt-Nershi Band with The String Cheese Incident's Billy Nershi. There were a few Leftover Salmon reunion shows here and there starting with some festival engagements in 2007, but as the years went by and solo careers took off it appeared that Leftover Salmon, at least a fully-engaged Leftover Salmon, was a thing of the past.
Then something unexpected happened. During one of those reunion runs in 2010, Salmon's banjo player at the time, Matt Flinner, couldn't make the show so Emmitt brought along former RockyGrass Banjo Contest winner Andy Thorn from his Emmitt-Nershi Band. It was a game changer.
"Andy's a real young guy with a lot of great energy who plays in a way that definitely relates to Mark's [Vann] playing and he's a lot of fun to be around, it's led to a real revival that just clicks on some hard to describe level" says Herman. "We've played with some great banjo players over the past few years, and not to say anything about them being less than great musicians, but there's just something intangible about playing with Andy that kind of makes Drew and I look at each other and grin. This is what we've been missing as far as that feeling between Drew, Mark and I that used to be there."
The 29-year-old Thorn grew up a Salmon fan in North Carolina and says the band helped him realize "this is what I want to do with my life." Ironically, it's his presence in the group that has given Leftover Salmon new life. Today, on the brink of another "Festivaaal" season, the band has recorded Aquatic Hitchhiker. Produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin, this is Salmon's first record in eight years and first ever of all original material.
"Steve [Berlin] understood where this album needed to go and how we all needed to work together as a band to make it happen" says Emmitt. Set for release on May 22, the recording process solidified the new Salmon, cauterizing old wounds and allowing fresh ideas to grow over past scars.
Click Here for More InformationFIRST KISSESInvisible Theatre 2/12-3/3/2013

Click Here for More InformationFIRST KISSESInvisible Theatre 2/13-3/3/2013
This charming multi prize winning play explores the lifelong relationship between John and Mary. They were born on the same day and grew up in the same town. A classic love story, FIRST KISSES follows this very special couple over the course of more than 60 years ... a span which includes love, marriage, birth, death, grandparenthood and of course, a first kiss. This tour-de-force features Harold and Maedell Dixon.
Click Here for More InformationALL SHOOK UPProscenium Theatre 2/21-3/3/2013
Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley, book by Joe DiPietro. Brought to the stage by the creative team of Todd Poelstra, Mickey Nugent, Nancy Davis Booth and Dr. Mark Nelson. An exuberant jukebox Broadway musical with high-energy dance numbers kick starts a chain reaction of romances and rebellion through the power of rock 'n roll music. This is Footloose, Grease and Happy Days all rolled into one with more than 24 Elvis hits.
Click Here for More InformationMEMPHISTucson Music Hall 2/26-3/3/2013
TURN UP THAT DIAL... From the underground dance clubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, comes a hot new Broadway musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Inspired by actual events, MEMPHIS is about a radio DJ who wants to change the world and a club singer who is ready for her big break. Come along on their incredible journey to the ends of the airwaves -- filled with laughter, soaring emotion and roof-raising rock 'n' roll. Winner of four 2010 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, MEMPHIS played pre-Broadway at the La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, and features a Tony®-winning book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and a Tony®-winning original score with music by Bon Jovi's founding member David Bryan. MEMPHIS is directed by Tony® nominee Christopher Ashley (Xanadu), and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys). Get ready to experience Broadway's most exciting new destination~ what AP calls "The very essence of what a Broadway musical should be."
Click Here for More InformationUA DANCE "PREMIUM BLEND"UA Stevie Eller 2/14-3/3/2013
Balanchine's three-part, evening-long ballet, Jewels, is one of the jewels of his output. Created in 1967, Jewels revisits the central pillars of his glorious career. The second ballet, Rubies, set to Stravinsky, celebrates American dance virtues, filled with sexy Broadway and jazz references. The work is pure Balanchine, full of the abstract stage patterns, novel arm and feet movements, and virtuoso fireworks typical of his style. UA's School of Dance is honored as only the third university dance program to be permitted to perform this work.
Amy Ernst's poetic work for eight women, entitled Songs of Sanctuary, will return to celebrate its 10th anniversary since being invited to the American College Dance Festival's national gala.
RATS!! by Douglas Nielsen, with vocals by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. will be presented on this program as well. Added to the male cast that exemplifies the infamous 'Rat Pack' will be the presence of women, as Shirley MacLaine, Anne Margaret and Liza Minnelli were considered essential to the entourage of that time. Along with robust choreography, gestures based on American Sign Language are incorporated into this dance.
James Clouser's new ballet Beachers, to be danced to the music of Dimitri Shostakovitch, presents a series of scenes that take place at the seashore and features flirtatious flappers, health enthusiasts, those who sun but never swim, a squall and a mirage revealing a dalliance between Venus and Neptune.
Michael Williams plans a new work set to a vibrant score in the contemporary musical genre of Nu Jazz. With orchestration ranging from traditional to experimental, the melodies of Nu Jazz are fresh, and its rhythms new and alive.
Click Here for More InformationPREMIUM BLENDSchool of Dance 2/14-3/3/2013
The award winning ballet, Jewels, choreographed by George Balanchine has been called the first full-length abstract ballet Balanchine created. It premiered in 1967 by the New York City Ballet. For this three-part ballet, Balanchine used as his inspiration three different composers and the artistry of jewelry designer Claude Arpels. Rubies, the middle section (between Emeralds and Diamonds) is a clever and lighthearted romp, reminiscent of other collaborations between Igor Stravinsky and Balanchine. Set to Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, this 19 minute piece for 15 dancers has become popular as a stand-alone ballet.
Click Here for More InformationREGRETS ONLYLive Theatre Workshop 2/14-3/24/2013